These days we are inundated with sound. Recently I heard an enticing piece.
It was a recording of postal clerks in an African village, their rhythmic
stamping of letters and whistling accompaniment. For me, and obviously
the composer, it qualified as music. And yet, there are
sounds that assault me after being put on hold, others that accost me in
elevators, and still others that urge me to buy, buy. These uses of “music”
undoubtedly verify its power to influence.

For me, music has been a presence in quite a different way. It can
be all absorbing, or merely a pastime; yet it has been one of those rare
constants in a life characterized by change. It began as something quite indistinct
yet sensuous, snuggled next to my dad as he listened to Saturday Met opera
broadcasts. Piano lessons unlocked a new world; I began to read music. It
was amazing what genius could render!

(story continues) ===>>>>>

Music
& Amore

by Lannie Reynolds

Throughout the centuries music has endured as the ultimate weapon of Cupid.
History has proven that music and love are the common threads running through
us all.

I believe music is about the myriad of emotions equated with love.
Music helps us celebrate the euphoric joy and exquisite agony of being in
love.

Photo by Chuck GriffithSandy Zimmerman conducts the Learning Centre’s
production of Haydn’s Toy Symphony during the “Strings in the
Snow” concert.
Pictured from far left are Pat Hoffman, Katie Jackson, Brian Wilson, &
Dr. Wag Rayes, Kathryn Daniels is in the back row.

>>> Music in the Air ... continued ...

I glimpsed the magnitude of the human potential for
creativity. I couldn’t tell you then, but after many years, I think
this initiation became a never ending love for the ineffable, the intimate,
the Possibility of conveying feelings without the need for words, the
potential to connect uniquely with others.

Music has also been a vehicle for significant learning. I believe
the characteristics of persistence, sensitivity; skills to organize,
concentrate, diagnose and problem solve; the realization that great
satisfaction is worth working at and waiting for, that frustration and
fulfillment may be two sides of the same coin - have all been developed
from my experience with music. The endless discussion of what constitutes
great music is something like the need to determine how many angels dance
on the head of a pin.

Personally, great music endures, touches me, and conveys the profundity
of the human condition. When I am most moved, I believe my whole being
is involved: my senses, my emotions, my mind, my soul. This is what music
is to me.

Boxing Day Disaster

A local lad, Chris Wilson, (Naomi's son) went off
to Sri Lanka on the 17th of January to help distribute food and water. Chris
is a trained paramedic who has had considerable experience in emergency response.
His volunteer services are being funded by local friends and family on behalf
of the Apostolic Church of Canada.

The 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake was an undersea earthquake that occurred
at 00:58:53 UTC (07:58:53 local time) on December 26, 2004. The earthquake
generated a tsunami that was among the deadliest disasters in modern history.
At a magnitude of 9.0, it was the largest earthquake since the 9.2 magnitude
Good Friday Earthquake off Alaska in 1964, and tied for fourth largest since
1900.

The earthquake originated in the Indian Ocean just north of Simeulue island,
off the western coast of northern Sumatra, Indonesia. The resulting tsunami
devastated the shores of Indonesia, Sri Lanka, India, Thailand and other
countries with waves of up to 15 m (50 feet) high, even reaching the east
coast of Africa, 4500 km (2,800 miles) west of the epicentre.

At least 159,487 people are known to have died as a result of the tsunami,
and the count is still taking place. The true final toll may never be known
due to bodies swept out to sea, but it is likely to be higher than the current
estimate.

Relief agencies warn of the possibility of more deaths to come as a result
of epidemics caused by poor sanitation, but the threat of starvation seems
now to have been largely averted (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/4157947.stm).
The plight of the many affected people and countries prompted a widespread
humanitarian response.